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IMF Sells 38.5 Tonnes Of Gold In Q2, As Saudi Holdings Higher By 180 Tonnes
The WGC has released its latest report of official gold holdings. The key buyers and sellers, well, seller, were Russia, +27.6 tonnes, Venezuela, +3.1 tonnes, and Philippines, +10.3 tonnes, while the IMF sold 38.5 tonnes. Yet most interesting was the surge in Saudi Arabia holdings which increased its official holdings from 143 to 323 tonnes. It appears, at least on the surface, that this was not incremental purchasing, or at least that is how the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority is trying to spin it: “gold data have been modified from First Quarter 2008 as a result of the adjustment of the SAMA’s gold accounts.” We wonder just how a country can "reclassify" 180 tonnes, or more than double existing holdings, in gold. Of course, if would not be good to see the country which lies on a sea of the world's biggest non-gold, yet $-denominated commodity to be in the market, diversifying its dollar holdings into hold. If SA had in fact purchased the gold, it would be equivalent to roughly $7.5 billion worth of purchases in the open market.
Official sector gold reserves as at June 2010
European central banks sold virtually no gold over the past quarter, save a small amount for minting gold coins. Total sales by European central banks have amounted to just 1.8 tonnes since the third central bank gold agreement began in September of last year. The only sales of note made via CGBA3 have been by the IMF, which has sold 38.7 tonnes since mid-February. We expect the IMF to sell at a similar pace this quarter.
Outside of the agreement, the main purchases reported over the last quarter have been by Russia and the Philippines, both of which have long-standing gold buying programmes. The Central Bank of Russia bought another 26.6 tonnes of gold over the past quarter, taking its total gold holdings to 668.6 tonnes or 5.5% of its total reserves, and remains the 9th largest official sector gold holder. The Philippines central bank bought 9.5 tonnes of gold in March, taking its gold holdings to 164.7 tonnes or 13.7% of total reserves.
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority reported last quarter that “gold data have been modified from First Quarter 2008 as a result of the adjustment of the SAMA’s gold accounts”, meaning SAMA’s gold reserves are now reported to be 322.9 tonnes or 2.8% of reserves, from 143 tonnes or 1.2% previously.
Reserve asset statistics...
Full chart:
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I thought Russia was buying gold?
"The key buyers and sellers, well, seller, were Russia, +27.6 tonnes, Venezuela, +3.1 tonnes, and Philippines, +10.3 tonnes, while the IMF sold 38.5 tonnes."
So Russia, +27.6 tonnes, Venezuela, +3.1 tonnes, and Philippines, +10.3 were buyers.
shit, I guess my mind couldn't comprehend plain english...the "seller" part threw me off. That and the numerous Beam/Cokes consumed last night.
So, by this chart, GLD is now #6. Right between France and China.
WHAT A FUCKING JOKE!!!!!!
AUDIT GLD NOW!!!!!!
Saudi buying gold... at an all time peak in dollar value. Shouldn't this be a clue that in the very near future, they are not going to accept our worthless paper money anymore for their oil. We will either have to pay yellow gold or they won't give us their black gold. My god, they already tried to introduce their own currency... what did they call it... the "GULFO?"
Woah. Slow down.
They did not just purchase this gold necessarily. Just made changes to how they report their reserves.
They have never accepted 'worthless' paper for their oil.
You have always paid them gold. You just didn't know it. We all have been.
You never notice how the 'oil shocks' came just after dollar ceased to be 'as good as gold'?
Or how the whole problem subsided in early '80s, at the same time paper gold took off, and the miners started 'forward selling' their gold?
Or how Saudi dollar reserves, previously massive, suddenly went down, and they even started running deficits?
Or how CBs have been selling gold the whole time? You ever consider where it all went?
Saudis have probably the worlds largest hoard of gold. They have no need to let you know. Things been working out fine as they are.
You're right about the petrodollars bleak future though.
A lot of surprises to surface in the not-too-distant future.
I have been waiting for news about IMF selling gold. Higher than the last time they sold too. I hope SA collects the physical but I'm pretty sure the IMF doesn't deliver they just shuffle around the shells in their shell game.
They need this for the heavily denied Spanish bailout. $205 Billion was floated for that as I recall. Maybe it was $250B.
Temporalist,
Any country buying this kind of Gld, is damn well taking delivery.
Otherwise, there's nothing but a Ponzi.The Arabs, and Russia........for damn sure, aren't taking IOU's.
HOLDINGS means Physical IMHO.
Because it's going to $3K/oz.
before it goes to $5k then to $8K then to infinity as no one will sell their gold for any dollars.
Which, according to Denninger, means it's worthless.
Anyone who wanted to buy gold in the opex price smash just got punked.
Saudi accumulation, and demand for physical, will be, like the 1970s, a major propellant for far higher prices
The only reason that their holding went up was because China offered to buy up their excess crude inventory that built up during the market crash and global melt down, at a steep discount I might add.
Since China was very low on USD's, because of the recession led trade imbalance, China paid for the crude using gold. Much of this gold came from a mine and not from the open market.
The IMF doesn't own gold; its member states do. So whose gold is being sold?
and is it the United States' gold, or, more specifically, the federal reserve's? And, are the Rothshilds et al US citizens, or should the U.S. gold number be re-allocated to its real owners?
I was wondering if the IMF means US gold was sold. We footed $80 Billion in the Greece IMF bailout. This Spanish bailout might need to be footed partly by the US again. Would we sell gold to support a bailout or would we just print it up, or swap it over, etc?
GNH,
Ron Paul has been (as you know), after the Fed forever.(and, as usual they got a friggin pass).
I think Congress should DEMAND an Audit of Physical Holdings.......I mean, let's stir ALL the shit.
And not by the fricken GAO, an independent firm, with members of Congress actually SEEING it.
Thanks, I agree. I just think it is "amusing" that the information is presented as the U.S. owns "x" tonnes of gold, when it is the fed that is the large owner. Ands who owns the fed? So, the gold is not really property of the U.S., but our "independent" central bank, whose owners may include non-U.S. groups (Rothschild, et al).
If I'm not seeing this accurately, please advise.
All (or at least half) of England's gold is now Rothschild's having been sold to them by Gordon Brown (for the promise of being appointed Prime Minister after resignation of Blair?) at the very bottom of the gold market.
How convenient.
Perhaps the daudi gold was moved from the Household category to the SAMA category.?
they're gonna take it down aren't they? freakin short is 4% against me, thinking of cutting it soon....
Here is a longer term perspective using the same data.
Keep in mind these are 'official' reserves, not private holdings, and only what they choose to disclose.
http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2010/06/official-gold-reserves-as-of-june-10.html
And a brief video on 'Fading Jeff Christian and Jonny Nadler'
http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2010/06/net-asset-value-of-certain-precious_18.html
"Mixed Nuts" indeed. Well played.
Jesse,
Amen!.....on the peoples Gold.
Nadler, drives me nuts.............he & Krugman must be related.
Hi Jesse, I was looking at the chart on your site of 'World Official Gold Holdings' and do not understand how the IMF can be the third largest holder of gold reserves when they recently announced that they were selling their 'last 400 tons'...and proceeded to sell 203 tons to India and made further smaller sales. Please advise.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2DePAZe2gA/TBuHNGSGSzI/AAAAAAAANOw/KMjNlS8O9jw/s1600/goldreserves.GIF
Jesse...love your site...a "must-read" for me daily.
"We wonder just how a country can "reclassify" 180 tonnes, or more than double existing holdings, in gold."
Maybe, the same way they upped their oil reserves without announcing any new discoveries?
This is actually a big concern I have about possibly becoming a "gold bug": They are simply lying.
Everybody is lying. I don't believe any of the sovereigns. They can all merely announce they have hundreds of tonnes more, and any time, to screw with everybody else.
I'm absolutely convinced that's happening; I just don't know the scale of the lies.
"Maybe, the same way they upped their oil reserves without announcing any new discoveries?"
The lies about oil reserves are at least straighforward. The oil producers lie about reserves because their sales allotment granted by OPEC is based on reported reserves. If they reported less reserves their alloted sales would decline.
Lying about gold reserves is a more convoluted game.
Heh, I love how low the UK is on the list.
Can we conquer and enslave them, yet? I'll put aside my anti-war qualms so long as it's just the UK. I have an ancestral Irish grudge against the fuckers.
Thank the dbag Gordon Brown for that one.
I will.
It'd be pretty awesome to have a butler with an English accent. So long as he can restrain himself from getting drunk and beaten up in bar fights. Or stabbing someone. Everyone knows just how much the Brits love stabbing each other.
Crash, England, crash!
Oh boy that one made me laugh.
They keep doing escape from New York movies and stuff. They should have an escape from england movie.
Apostate,
Look at Switzerland...................unless I am missing something, the Worlds Ex Power house, has NONE.
What a stupid move them taking the backing off their currency.
Never thought I would live to see the day, nor the Banks caving and giving up account holdings.
Sorry Bstds.
Yeah...and the Swiss appear to be all in defending their currency because of Euro flight into Swiss banks.
I doubt the Swiss foresaw this possibility when they opted out of the Euro...but, they still did the right thing imo.
Schiff will turn out being correct. Next they will buy the miners and close the vaults. Since they cannot depend on oil in coming centuries they are doing the smart thing and turning the black gold into actual gold. Very smart. All the U.S. has is military defense which in coming years will be more difficult to remain cutting edge if they do not address the current deficits.
Empires fall like slow moving train wrecks.
brillian, I completely agree - also a hedge against their dwindling reserves, perhaps???
You'd think the Saudis would leave some oil in the ground, as a strategic reserve, and then "discover" it later.
low-cost energy + gold = wealth
One thing they forgot in the report is whether paper/physical gold, my guess the former...
BI is reporting China has been secretly loading up on it's own domestic gold.
http://www.businessinsider.com/is-china-secretly-stealth-buying-gold-2010-6
And copper.
papa,
China announced this publically months ago, also they have banned all exports of Silver.
Another and FOA would say that Saudi has been selling its oil for gold and then leasing it out, playing bullion banker. Maybe Saudi is calling in its gold leases.
Hansel,
Saudi contrary to popular beliefs, has a hell of a lot less reserves on crude, than is thought.
That would not surprise me in the least.
"Saudi contrary to popular beliefs, has a hell of a lot less reserves on crude, than is thought."
...and your proof is where? SA oil reserves are the worlds biggest and best kept secret. You will only be proven correct when SA says NO MAS!
As Burl Ives once sang: "Silver and Gold, Bitches!"
Hmmm. And how many tonnes did GLD supposedly buy during the same period???
Does anyone know why the sovreign wealth funds simply just dont buy all the shares of any given mining company and then just hoard the production.
Is there some unspoken agreement between nations.
Folks, I'm not a gold guy and don't own any...but the charts are saying that if we close here or higher, then gold has officially broken out (accelerated through) a rising wedge...hell, I was about to go short gold but it seems those who are saying gold is the new currency may have just been proven correct and confidence in paper is really on the ropes.
This has the feel of a day that could get wild as all the volume should be big and manipulation will be very difficult...so many "challenges" out there and not seemingly priced in. Could be a stampede out of equities?
Ahhh...stampede the magic word.
I would look for a gradual ramping up to a stampede into gold and silver. Demand has been slowly increasing for 3 years if you check.
JLee,
And damn glad it has been a S_L_O_W one..........
Like the Indians, stop buying everytime it goes up, only to see it not dropping, but climbing the worry wall, and then having to pay EVEN more........
You are a freakin' genius ... more a global stampede out of fiatsco paper !!
http://silver-and-gold-prices.goldprice.org/2010/06/wild-gold-price-bull...
Where can i get a copy of the WGC report? I don't want to register again at yet another website. TIA
"http://www.gold.org/deliver.php?file=/value/stats/statistics/archive/pdf..."
I lived in SA when I was a kid, and remember someone saying that there are many gold deposits in SA but they wouldn't dig it out and instead just cover them up. At the time the person speculated that SA was saving gold for when they run out of oil...
OK, here they come. It is 12:52 and gold is 1260.
The Evil Empire will do anything to close it under 1254. Will they succeed?
Where's Iran?
Is SA taking GOLD as payment for oil maybe? If so who from?
From you.
Since early 1980's.
You don't understand the function of 'paper gold', do you?
Where are all the gold trolls?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX3bzpCspvY
moderated away
Saudi royalty has private gold holdings running to the thousands of tonnes.
Maybe the largest holdings on the planet.
Some of the trade caravans traveling the ancient silk road we said to contain as many as 25,000 camels. I wonder if it will take that many to move the SA family gold.
I should have probably notified the board that I'd be making a major buy on Wednesday; it must have just been recognized by the market. That 1/10 oz eagle was probably what kicked things into high gear. I'll apologize to Karl later, I guess. He probably doesn't hang around here too much.
Anyway, interesting finding last weekend. I was walking through an established mall, and in the space of 40 yards, in the center of the mall corridor were three cart/kiosk style businesses that (among other things) advertised "We buy gold!". I was curious what they'd pay for gold, so I asked. The asian guy whose business was cheap jewelry (gargantuan gold-tone crosses chains that would safely restrain a Rottweiler, e.g.) said he'd have to check spot and he'd pay a few percent under spot. I was surprised; the guy seemed pretty in tune, but not as surprised as the I was in a few minutes.
The woman manning (heh) the cart whose business that was solely buying gold was very evasive. First, she wouldn't tell me what they'd pay, "Oh, it depends on what carat the gold is..." I replied, "Assume 24K; assume it's a Canadian Maple Leaf, a one troy ounce coin". Her reply, "Oh, we pay by the pennyweight, not by ounces" I was somewhat dumbstruck. It seemed obvious to me that 1) one unit of weight can be pretty simply converted into another, and 2) that the reason for using this arcane unit of measure was to obscure the brutal cornholing they were administering to their hosts... er, customers.
I asked her to simply convert the units on the digital scale she was using (with state seal certifying weights and measures) to troy ounces, to which she replied, "Oh, it only measures in pennyweights". I replied, in my best Bill Cosby as Noah impression, "Rii-iight." So I asked her what they were paying per pennyweight of 24k gold, and she replied, "25.99". I thanked her, after replying to her query that, "No, I don't think I'll be selling you any gold today", and walked off.
Given that a pennyweight is 1/20 Troy Ounce, you too, can walk into your friendly neighborhood gold buyer cart... thing, and sell your Maples, buffaloes, Philharmonics, and what ever else .999 gold you've got for the top dollar price of a shade under USD$520/oz.
I always knew that folks were paying dearly for the convenience having the "We buy gold" baggie people convert their wealth to fiat, but I never knew exactly how much. Gobsmacked, I was.
There is probably no greater thrill in life - at this point - then yelling "GOLD BITCHES!!" That feels so good. I have been buying gold and silver for about six years- and I have crossed over the line to fetishist - that soft shine off the metal- that weight, the solid sound when it drops to the table top. I don't want to ever give my Gold- It is the hottest Trophy Wife!! The rational part of me- though- sees what happened in 1980- when it shot up, and then crashed. As much as I love Gold- I don't want to be that Eighties Guy. At some point- and it is still quite awhile away - at some point, it would be smart to sell at the peak, move it into something else- something else that is, at that point, at it's historic low, and moving up. My question to all ZH'ers with knowledge in these areas - how do you try to guess when it is nearing the peak, and what would you move it into? What are the things you'd watch for? I don't want to give up my Gold, but I am a greedy motherfucker, and if the next big thing will make me richer, I want to be at the station when the train pulls out. Who knows what best indicators for a Gold Peak will be?
Have you considered there may be other ways to view, well everything, actually?
This: Freegold, may fit rather well with what you already know. Or not. Might be worth considering, though.
Good indicators that I can think of:
1) Stock market has been through a brutal hammering that has dropped p/e's to 5 or 6 and raised the yield on the S&P to 6% or better
2) Grueling decimation of the U.S. Treasury bond market as the dollar as been wrecked, inflation is in the double-digits and the yield on the 30-year is 15% or better (if John Williams at Shadowstats is correct)
3) Gold price to S&P is somewhere around 1
4) People swear they will never again own a share of stock for the rest of their lives
5) Owning gold is seen as the only sensible and rational thing to do, and people are openly talking about how well gold is doing and how much they have of it
6) The U.S. political system has undergone wrenching change after domestic disaster after disaster forces Americans to face the truth about their reduced circumstances and humbly return to their roots, common sense and sound monetary and fiscal policy
7) A wild thought: perhaps you may never have to "sell" your gold. Perhaps your gold will be actual money again!
Thanks for the advice Sam Thomas and Ninuit - I will spend some time later this evening going over what you have referenced. Both of you are pushing the point that it is good to try to see all your assumptions in a fresh way - even take the opposite argument- that is why I asked the question, originally - because I love Gold so much - it is easy for me to convince myself that it is the smart move- and, typically, as one starts making winnings in investements - the person attributes the win to their own smarts, and doubles down, and, loses. Loved Taleb's points about this in his Black Swan book. So, I am trying to get someone to tell me something about Gold that shatters my bubble. I don't want my love for Gold to turn out like most of my girl infatuations- the ones that always ended up with a shreiking psycho chick.
I was asked that question just the other day from someone who would buy if he had the available funds. I came up with a couple of things I could think of.
First and foremost, you can sell a little of your gold at a time or when you choose. If you've recouped all of your investment and still have gold remaining, e.g.if it goes to $2000 and you bought $10000 worth at $1000 you will have half your initial purchase free and clear. Of course since you've been buying for 6 years you can be free and clear with very little hit to your stash.
But I also thought if the gold miners bring back their hedge books or rumors start about that it may be a good time.
Also, when people, that you and I know who presently won't buy gold, start to tell everyone they know about gold, things will start getting weird but possibly you may want to sell to some friends or relatives then at the spot price.
When governments cut deficits and start to act fiscally responsible or choose to have a strong currency instead of all the governments simultaneously trying to have the weakest currency on the planet for "exporting" reasons, start to consider selling.
If a currency becomes available that is backed by gold and silver.
If gold is extracted from salt water by some miraculous process in the future much like yellow diamonds are created today (although it is easier to pressurize carbon than it is to create an element I'd imagine).
If aliens invade and laugh at people for holding gold as some gold-haters like to say, may be time to live underground at that point though.
Conversely though if a "black market" for gold and PM bartering for goods appears you may not want to get rid of any.
When the "Mad Max" scenario happens, as so many aurophobes think the Champions for Gold believe in, gold will truly have no value compared to water and food and fertile soil and tools and seeds and livestock and energy sources like solar or wind or gas/oil etc.
But most importantly the "bubble" of gold from the past is nothing like the current bull market. In the past the U.S. was a creditor nation now not only is it a debtor nation but most all of the biggest economies in the world are debtor nations. To top that they all have unfunded liabilites far outpacing their GDP.
How about this...when governments decide to start the space program again to mine for gold on Mars...it may be time to get out of gold.
Those were some I could think of if I remember more I'll post it. I think there should be a thread for this as it can have humors aspects as I hope I've demonstrated.
Kind of like "you know you're a redneck if" but instead:
You know gold's in a bubble when:
Ben Bernanke's head explodes because he admitted he was wrong about gold and Keynesian economics.
When M.C. Hammer sells his gold plated toilet seat and starts his own country.
When Mr. T drafts his own personal army by selling the gold necklaces from around his neck.
When Indians and Chinese own 50% of the U.S. from selling their gold holdings for real estate (this one isn't so funny because it may be true).
I think you will see the gold price in US$ go up and down in much greater increments each day. Think $50 or $100 or even $200 swings. If things go parabolic, then I would seriously consider selling all of my gold, and buying back in after a price crash. It's a very hard thing to judge perfectly, and as I pointed out the other day, the more your gold has increased in value, the less likely you are to want to sell it.
I am new to ZH- trying to learn the ropes- one thing I see - which is obvious, and amusing- is, these threads move on fast - I get in on last few posts- and appreciate the response- but, Jesus, ZH just moves on - it is hard to keep up with the pace- hard to have any formal back-and-forth- cause ZH is already like twenty threads down the line.I like it- it is like all the logic of a drive-by shooting. I can't believe I was raised in an era where you actually sent thank-you notes to families who had you stay over night. God, the rules have changed. You become an Avatar - you hit, you roll - but you know fucking what? It is cool- the shit gets transmitted- people talk - and they talk shit, but that is the way it is. Cool. You young guys simply cannot imagine what it was like to have your writing, when you were a kid- mimeographed- actually watch the wheel spin, and the blue/black ink print out on the heavy white paper- it was before the goddamned xerox machines even - I can smell the paper. I love it - I am so loving being able to remember what others just have no clue about- it is beautiful - you don't have any idea where you came from. I try to imagine a kid today with Google Earth- trying to imagine what it was like, in 1964, to spin a little Globe in the library - or look up a Time magazine article from 1952, on microfilm. Do you have any idea what it felt like to load film onto a Brownie spool? Any idea what the smell of the first Polaroids was- the sound of the little ticker that told you when to rip off the back- oh that smell. No, there is no way you can know what I felt - the same way I can't really know what it really felt to have the first refridgerator, or phone, or drive a horse-buggy. As time goes on- something is lost- and something is gained. I see what is lost, and what is gained. I hope young people see - or try to see, what happens with progress. When I was a kid, in the early nineteen sixties, there really was a quality of life that has been lost- people were real- they interacted in a diffrent way than today - there was a level of honesty that has been lost. Now, every thing is expected to be politically correct, and false. A Man used to be taken at his word. That day is gone, and I think anyone reading this- that is past fifty, will recognize this - but young people will just never have had a chance to know what came before. There will be new Triumphs- new qualities - you can't be stranded in the past - I have a four year old daughter - but, my friends, you simply can not imagine what it was like in 1962, to go to the beach club in Connecticut, watch your Mom put a hamberger on the grill- and meet the little girl from down the road. The world was so much smaller, and the idea of your future was so simple and benign - it would all be fine. Then, years later, you are in Sri Lanka, and Nicaragua, and Cambodia, and you are drunk as shit, and you are in a casino in Sri Lanka, and you win at blackjack and beautiful girls are taking you back to your hotel, and you are afraid you are going to be blown up; and in Nicaruagua you are taking pictures of Ortegas house, and the machine gun implacemnts at the National Building, and all the buildings in Manaugua are down from the earthquake, and 13 year old kids are each street corner with wooden stocked rifles- and you are in Haiti when Duvalier is overthrown, and you remember going to the kitchen ,a nd the Creole girls give you a Coke, and the tax collector from the town just got hacked to death with machets. You remember the picture of the girl running naked in Vietnam, burned with Napalm- and, in the same memory, you remember sitting on the stairs at your kidnergarten, with cotton in your ear from an ear ache - watching one of the first space launches in 1963. You rmember the JFK funeral because it happened when you were supposed to be watching Sat morning cartoons.
See above reply about selling gold/gold bubble. Also, you are older than dirt.
Sell your Gold at DOW 1 to 1 ratio and then swoop in and buy land...it will be cheap...some say 80's prices will be back.
I remember Kennedy being killed. I also remember losing my only Oriole in a pack of 10 cards because the 8th graders talked me into playing tossing cards with them (http://www.streetplay.com/thegames/baseballcards.shtml). No more gambling for me. Gold and Silver to the moon!
Yes Dow to Gold ratio I forgot that one thanks. Although this time I can see Gold flipping that ratio on its head.
.
EURO bullish signals I warned of during the past few weeks - has resulted in the recent rally and the daily chart remains bullish.
The DOW/SP500 counter trend rally suggested on June 13 continues, however ...
http://stockmarket618.wordpress.com/about
Interesting to break it down to per capita on the holdings?
tap tap ... is this thing on ... just for the record.
GLD audited holdings 26th Feb 2010 35590569 ounces
today from GLD front page 42052306
6461737 ounce difference i.e. 201 tonnes in 4 months